COVID August - Vaccines, etc. @ Content

[al dente]

Aug 3, 2023 22:34:55 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Aug 3, 2023 19:49:24 GMT -5 al dente said:

My H tested positive yesterday, for the first time! It went through our house twice previously but he was gone both times and somehow never got it while traveling for work. It's been close to a year since we had it so I'm really hoping no one else gets it.

But it also made me realize I have no idea what COVID protocol is. Do I tell work? Is it taboo to be doing stuff if someone in your household is positive? Is Paxlovid still recommended for everyone immediately? His doctor just said to stay home and nothing else.

The recommendation for quarantine if you’re exposed went away awhile back. It’s recommended that you wear a mask and test yourself on day 6 of exposure. Obviously if you’re living with someone and they don’t isolate then hard to figure out exactly when day 6 is. However, what we did when I had Covid in Jan for the first time is I immediately started wearing a mask pretty much 24/7 and isolated as much as possible from my partner (we didn’t sleep together) and then he tested on days 6-10. Once he was still negative on day 10 we figured he was in the clear.

If he’s not going to isolate then I personally would wear a mask when out like is recommended and test regularly.

oh he is isolating! He got back home from a work trip Saturday, and then we spent lots of time together until Wednesday when he came home from work saying he did not feel good. We also have a super small house and only one bathroom so he's confined to one room but there's still overlap.

[kiminky]

Aug 3, 2023 22:34:55 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Aug 3, 2023 19:49:24 GMT -5 al dente said:

My H tested positive yesterday, for the first time! It went through our house twice previously but he was gone both times and somehow never got it while traveling for work. It's been close to a year since we had it so I'm really hoping no one else gets it.

But it also made me realize I have no idea what COVID protocol is. Do I tell work? Is it taboo to be doing stuff if someone in your household is positive? Is Paxlovid still recommended for everyone immediately? His doctor just said to stay home and nothing else.

The recommendation for quarantine if you’re exposed went away awhile back. It’s recommended that you wear a mask and test yourself on day 6 of exposure. Obviously if you’re living with someone and they don’t isolate then hard to figure out exactly when day 6 is. However, what we did when I had Covid in Jan for the first time is I immediately started wearing a mask pretty much 24/7 and isolated as much as possible from my partner (we didn’t sleep together) and then he tested on days 6-10. Once he was still negative on day 10 we figured he was in the clear.

If he’s not going to isolate then I personally would wear a mask when out like is recommended and test regularly.

What are your thoughts on Paxlovid? I tested positive for the 1st time today.

[wanderingback]

Aug 3, 2023 23:18:02 GMT -5 al dente said:

Aug 3, 2023 22:34:55 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

The recommendation for quarantine if you’re exposed went away awhile back. It’s recommended that you wear a mask and test yourself on day 6 of exposure. Obviously if you’re living with someone and they don’t isolate then hard to figure out exactly when day 6 is. However, what we did when I had Covid in Jan for the first time is I immediately started wearing a mask pretty much 24/7 and isolated as much as possible from my partner (we didn’t sleep together) and then he tested on days 6-10. Once he was still negative on day 10 we figured he was in the clear.

If he’s not going to isolate then I personally would wear a mask when out like is recommended and test regularly.

oh he is isolating! He got back home from a work trip Saturday, and then we spent lots of time together until Wednesday when he came home from work saying he did not feel good. We also have a super small house and only one bathroom so he's confined to one room but there's still overlap.

Yep when I had it in Jan we lived in a 1 bed, 1 bath apartment. I obviously didn’t wear a mask while showering, but all other times did, so we just did the best we could. Also had air purifiers going. Hope your H is feeling better!

[wanderingback]

Aug 3, 2023 23:18:28 GMT -5 kiminky said:

Aug 3, 2023 22:34:55 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

The recommendation for quarantine if you’re exposed went away awhile back. It’s recommended that you wear a mask and test yourself on day 6 of exposure. Obviously if you’re living with someone and they don’t isolate then hard to figure out exactly when day 6 is. However, what we did when I had Covid in Jan for the first time is I immediately started wearing a mask pretty much 24/7 and isolated as much as possible from my partner (we didn’t sleep together) and then he tested on days 6-10. Once he was still negative on day 10 we figured he was in the clear.

If he’s not going to isolate then I personally would wear a mask when out like is recommended and test regularly.

What are your thoughts on Paxlovid? I tested positive for the 1st time today.

I think the taste side effect is the only downside, def talk to your doctor, especially if you’re really symptomatic.

[wanderingback]

I still have several family members who have never developed symptoms and have never tested positive.

This includes my mom, dad, his wife, my 105 year old grandmother and my aunt and uncle.

I’m most surprised about my dad and his wife because I think they were the quickest to return to "normal" like eating inside restaurants and my dad’s wife has a college age son who visits/stays with them often. He had Covid once and I think there was overlap with his visit but they tested negative multiple times. So who knows! I think vaccines were helping a lot and this people can be completely asymptomatic.

[underwaterrhymes]

kiminky I’ve had COVID twice now and took Paxlovid both times. I felt SO much better really quickly and was testing negative within four days of starting . Your mouth will taste nasty for the duration. (I plowed through two bags of Red Hots since cinnamon flavor seems to help a bit.) But I am a big believer that it should be broadly available and more strongly promoted.

[formerlyak]

I still haven’t had it. It ran through my house. The teen got it so we isolated him. Teens are easy to isolate. After 5 days and no symptoms he was allowed back at school with a mask inside regardless of if he had a positive or negative test. So on day 6 we also let him out of isolation at home. None of us got it.

Then a month later DH got it from a coworker. We had him isolate. Younger DS hung with me. We tested every day. Younger DS threw up on me the day he tested positive. So then he hung with DH since they both had it. I kept testing through day 10 of being barfed on. It was hard to test based on days from exposure because DH had to go back to work so I was sick DS’ caregiver during the day since I work from home. I masked around him. Didn’t get it.

It’s just matter of time. But since even here in LA where we had such strict protocols there is nothing, I don’t know that testing for certain symptoms will even occur to me the way it has for the past few years when I’d test for anything cold like. What’s everyone doing now in terms of testing?

[fortnightlily]

Aug 4, 2023 8:20:30 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

I still haven’t had it. It ran through my house. The teen got it so we isolated him. Teens are easy to isolate. After 5 days and no symptoms he was allowed back at school with a mask inside regardless of if he had a positive or negative test. So on day 6 we also let him out of isolation at home. None of us got it.

Then a month later DH got it from a coworker. We had him isolate. Younger DS hung with me. We tested every day. Younger DS threw up on me the day he tested positive. So then he hung with DH since they both had it. I kept testing through day 10 of being barfed on. It was hard to test based on days from exposure because DH had to go back to work so I was sick DS’ caregiver during the day since I work from home. I masked around him. Didn’t get it.

It’s just matter of time. But since even here in LA where we had such strict protocols there is nothing, I don’t know that testing for certain symptoms will even occur to me the way it has for the past few years when I’d test for anything cold like. What’s everyone doing now in terms of testing?

We have some stockpiled tests, but it wouldn't surprised me if many of them are expired (even if I look up extended expirations). I have not bought nor picked up any free tests in a long time, nor observed how easily available they are in local pharmacies. I developed a random cough last Monday but never developed any other symptoms, no sore throat, no nasal congestion, nothing, and realized with fascination and a little chagrin over 5 days later that it never occurred to me to test myself because I haven't felt 'sick' at any point, it's just like a persistent drip/tickle which has still been here 12-ish days later.

[eddy]

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My almost 16 year still hasn't had it. Mind boggling as he has the most social/out there person of all of us. He actually has been barely sick in the past 3 years. He must have a very robust immune system.

[Velar Fricative]

Aug 4, 2023 8:20:30 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

It’s just matter of time. But since even here in LA where we had such strict protocols there is nothing, I don’t know that testing for certain symptoms will even occur to me the way it has for the past few years when I’d test for anything cold like. What’s everyone doing now in terms of testing?

Since we have a lot of home tests we still test when someone has a symptom at home - that's how it was discovered with the first member of our household to have it recently. She suddenly seemed sluggish one night and felt warm (ended up with a 100 fever) so she tested and the positive came up immediately. We weren't necessarily expecting it to be covid, but we at least wanted to rule covid out if it was something else and it's the only thing we have home tests for. If she tested negative, we would have brought her to the doctor for further testing (flu, strep, etc.) and then if everything else came up negative we'd just assume it's a run of the mill cold or something. And then a couple of days later when I woke up with the telltale scratchy throat I tested and that came up positive too. 

But I feel like this works for us because in our household of 4 people, we all don't get sick very often. The habit of testing upon symptoms would be a lot more annoying if any of us got sick more often than we do. Like, the person with a fever hadn't had a fever since she was a baby, so that was really unusual for us and I didn't think of NOT testing in that situation. I also don't wake up with a scratchy throat that often and when I do it's almost always because I have some sort of virus. At least we can either confirm or rule out covid with the home tests and if positive, it saves us a trip to the doctor/urgent care. 

[Velar Fricative]

Aug 4, 2023 8:37:54 GMT -5 eddy said:

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My almost 16 year still hasn't had it. Mind boggling as he has the most social/out there person of all of us. He actually has been barely sick in the past 3 years. He must have a very robust immune system.

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Same with my 6-year-old. She's the only one that went back to school full-time as of September 2020, and it was Pre-K3 where you know those kids were NOT social distancing and barely keeping masks on. She never got it when any of the rest of us had covid. She was the last to get vaccinated since she turned 5 just before they approved vaccines for the under-5s. That was also around when I got covid the first time and she couldn't go to school due to my case because she was only weeks shy of vaccination, so she quarantined with her covid-positive mom for 10 days. And she's truly never been sick enough that entire time to prompt us to test her due to symptoms. I need to donate her to science lol. 

It is possible she had it asymptomatically since my older kid once had an asymptomatic case, but still. 

[wanderingback]

New vaccines should be available the end of Sept-

www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/covid-vaccine-booster-xbb-variants-september-2023/

[msmerymac]

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A lot of pediatrician's offices have stopped offering the vaccine because they weren't getting enough takers and had to toss too many doses. Or else they are doing them all one day a week so they can use up the vial.

I'm in a birth month group on FB for my daughter and there are SO many people saying they would NEVER give it to their kids because they don't know about "long-term effects" and VAERS and other BS. 

[Jalapeñomel]

Aug 4, 2023 8:37:54 GMT -5 eddy said:

@@
My almost 16 year still hasn't had it. Mind boggling as he has the most social/out there person of all of us. He actually has been barely sick in the past 3 years. He must have a very robust immune system.

If I’ve had it, it’s been asymptomatic. I tested positive last summer on a Sunday after three negatives on a Saturday, and then on Monday it was negative (several negatives and the 3 day test). Still don’t know why or how that happened though, and I’m unconvinced I ever had it in the first place.

And as a teacher, I’ve been in the classroom since fall 2019.

[wanderingback]

Aug 10, 2023 8:45:35 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

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A lot of pediatrician's offices have stopped offering the vaccine because they weren't getting enough takers and had to toss too many doses. Or else they are doing them all one day a week so they can use up the vial.

I'm in a birth month group on FB for my daughter and there are SO many people saying they would NEVER give it to their kids because they don't know about "long-term effects" and VAERS and other BS. 

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That’s really dumb because pediatrician’s offices of all places should know how to manage vaccines. It just needs to be handled like all the other childhood vaccines.

My doctor did say she recommended to give my daughter the covid vaccine on a separate day of her 6 month routine vaccines. I said can we just get it all done today and she said well you’re the parent so it’s your choice (she doesn’t know I’m also a doctor haha), so she got all the vaccines together. Even though we only live 10 blocks away I didn’t feel like having to make a 2nd trip for it since not medically necessary.

It should be offered with all the rest of the vaccines! So she got the first with her 6 month vaccines, then we did have to make a separate trip for the 2nd one and then she got the 3rd one at her usual 9 month check up. Easy peasy.

*I know vaccine management is expensive and waste can be a problem that’s why some family practice offices moved away from taking care of small babies so they didn’t have to deal with the lost expenses from vaccine management, but pediatrician offices shouldn’t be able to use that excuse!

[chickadee77]

Just did both girls' well-checks yesterday and the pedi said he's starting to see cases ramp up again and recommended new boosters when they come out, but said we should just get them at the pharmacy with their flu shots 🤷‍♀️.

I mean, we know it hasn't *gone away*, so my suspicious brain wonders if the fact that they're seeing more cases means the symptoms are more bothersome (triggering a dr visit rather than just riding it out as allergies/cold/whatever).

So far, we've dodged it (I think - who knows about the early days). But I spiked a fever/felt like shit for a few days last week and never turned a + test, so again 🤷‍♀️

[Velar Fricative]

I really want to get both the flu shot and the covid shot at the same time but I just had covid starting 7/27. Maybe I'll just cross my fingers and wait until end of October then. I'm a little leery of getting the shot so close to having had covid because my hair loss has still not let up since my first time with covid in June 2022, and then it sped up again after I got the booster last fall. Since it's only about a couple of weeks since I had covid again I'm waiting for that shoe to drop again (and it has still been falling out even outside of these times, but I have no idea if that's also for hormonal/aging reasons). Sigh. I'll do what I have to do to protect my health but the hair loss has been really depressing.

[noodleoo]

Aug 10, 2023 9:41:15 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Just did both girls' well-checks yesterday and the pedi said he's starting to see cases ramp up again and recommended new boosters when they come out, but said we should just get them at the pharmacy with their flu shots 🤷‍♀️.

I mean, we know it hasn't *gone away*, so my suspicious brain wonders if the fact that they're seeing more cases means the symptoms are more bothersome (triggering a dr visit rather than just riding it out as allergies/cold/whatever).

So far, we've dodged it (I think - who knows about the early days). But I spiked a fever/felt like shit for a few days last week and never turned a + test, so again 🤷‍♀️

This is a weird thing to say.  Just because Covid hasn't gone away, doesn't mean the number of cases at any point in time isn't changing.  Cases increase and decrease over time just like with the flu.  You can look at the wastewater data and see that Covid cases are increasing right now.  

Tons of great data on this site for wastewater tracking, which seems like the only accurate way to track Covid spread these days.

biobot.io/data/covid-19

[AJL]

Aug 10, 2023 8:45:35 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I'm in a birth month group on FB for my daughter and there are SO many people saying they would NEVER give it to their kids because they don't know about "long-term effects" and VAERS and other BS. 

Ugh! This is so frustrating to hear. We know the long-term effects of COVID already and obviously the horrible effect of death. I just can't wrap my head around why people are so suspicious of vaccinations. 

[melissa]

DS is sick now and I thought it was just a cold but going to test him today for COVID just to be safe. Talked to a coworker in another state and her and her husband just gov over COVID. Another office that we are working with had in-person training and now a part of their staff is out with COVID.

[Velar Fricative]

Also I really hate how just stating as fact that covid cases are rising brings out the deniers/anti-vaxxers. People never change.

[hermione]

Had my first staff member calling in sick with COVID in a long time. I'm ready for a booster now!

[wanderingback]

Our health department put out an alert about rising cases and a reminder about where to get tested, where can get free test kits and phone number to call if positive and need treatment and don’t have your own doctor.

[chickadee77]

Aug 10, 2023 10:01:24 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Aug 10, 2023 9:41:15 GMT -5 chickadee77 said:

Just did both girls' well-checks yesterday and the pedi said he's starting to see cases ramp up again and recommended new boosters when they come out, but said we should just get them at the pharmacy with their flu shots 🤷‍♀️.

I mean, we know it hasn't *gone away*, so my suspicious brain wonders if the fact that they're seeing more cases means the symptoms are more bothersome (triggering a dr visit rather than just riding it out as allergies/cold/whatever).

So far, we've dodged it (I think - who knows about the early days). But I spiked a fever/felt like shit for a few days last week and never turned a + test, so again 🤷‍♀️

This is a weird thing to say.  Just because Covid hasn't gone away, doesn't mean the number of cases at any point in time isn't changing.  Cases increase and decrease over time just like with the flu.  You can look at the wastewater data and see that Covid cases are increasing right now.  

Tons of great data on this site for wastewater tracking, which seems like the only accurate way to track Covid spread these days.

biobot.io/data/covid-19

Don't know why it's weird. Basically just wondering if there's a strain with more bothersome symptoms going around currently, since it seems most people have stopped caring about even testing, much less going to the doctor. I know cases ebb and flow, and am by no means a denier (in fact, I still mask fairly frequently). I've just been jaded about if we really know WTH is going on, since it seems the world at large has declared covid to not be a thing anymore. I tend to think numbers are higher than we think, but have nothing besides my mistrust to go on.

Please also remember I rode most of this out in FL, where covid was "over" a couple of months after it started.

[goldengirlz]

Aug 3, 2023 23:18:28 GMT -5 kiminky said:

Aug 3, 2023 22:34:55 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

The recommendation for quarantine if you’re exposed went away awhile back. It’s recommended that you wear a mask and test yourself on day 6 of exposure. Obviously if you’re living with someone and they don’t isolate then hard to figure out exactly when day 6 is. However, what we did when I had Covid in Jan for the first time is I immediately started wearing a mask pretty much 24/7 and isolated as much as possible from my partner (we didn’t sleep together) and then he tested on days 6-10. Once he was still negative on day 10 we figured he was in the clear.

If he’s not going to isolate then I personally would wear a mask when out like is recommended and test regularly.

What are your thoughts on Paxlovid? I tested positive for the 1st time today.

I know you asked the resident doctor on our board, but Paxlovid is a godsend.

The only problem is it has a lot of drug-drug interactions. I take a fairly benign anti-anxiety drug and had to choose between either extreme nausea from taking them together or stopping it suddenly and suffering through withdrawal symptoms. (My doctor warned me in advance that they wouldn’t play nice together.) That was by far the worst part! My covid symptoms OTOH disappeared within 12 hours!

[ssmjlm]

Except for the kid testing positive back in Feb 2022, no one else in the house has tested positive. Doesn't mean DH and I haven't had it, but we've never popped a test.

DH went to a funeral memorial day weekend and came back sick, we didn't test positive and the cold went through him, me, and my parents. DH thinks we may have all had it because other people at the funeral tested positive and apparently were a lot sicker than any of our symptoms. My dad even went to urgent care because he ended up with a sinus infection and UC didn't even do covid test.

[pugz]

One of my friends is still making her whole family mask outside which is hard for me to understand at this point. They are not high risk but she is terrified of long covid. Pulled her kids out of school 2 years ago and they will even mask outdoors when nobody is around. It worries me that they are still living like it is early 2020.

I understand still masking in certain environments and situations, but also worry this is a serious mental health struggle at this point for her.

[basilosaurus]

They're still not really offering the vaccine (omicron version?) I got back in September when I went to the states. It was such a seamless and easy roll out here at the beginning (many months after usa and Europe) that I was scheduled, even as a tourist, automatically. Now is very different. Which doesn't surprise me because getting a flu shot takes real effort. Hell, getting ibuprofen takes effort. But the COVID vaccine was so easy

So idk, I think people are resigned to it. A podcast I listened to said something like 70% of Americans have had it now. So mitigation of effects vs prevention is the goal.

But, please, here's my arm. Give me alllll the shots.

[al dente]

Are your doctors giving out Paxlovid? When I had COVID and asked about it mine was like ehhh your fine, and now when my H just has COVID they also didn't prescribe it when he asked about it. Is there like a shortage? Is it just for if you have health issues?

[wanderingback]

Aug 10, 2023 22:52:56 GMT -5 al dente said:

Are your doctors giving out Paxlovid? When I had COVID and asked about it mine was like ehhh your fine, and now when my H just has COVID they also didn't prescribe it when he asked about it. Is there like a shortage? Is it just for if you have health issues?

So technically the fda label says it’s for mild to moderate covid for people who are at high risk for progression to severe covid (hospitalization or death). So if you strictly follow the label then yes it’s supposed to be for people who are at risk. However, there is still a lot not known about covid that I think it’s reasonable to prescribe it to anyone who has covid, has symptoms and is asking for a prescription.

I don’t know the answer about a shortage, as far as I know there isn’t one, but could be wrong.